Me and My Students

I've been teaching a special summer workshop at HUFS, Hanguk University of Foreign Studies. Students come from all over the world and Korea to take part in the 5-week program.  It is a lot of fun, and the students this year are really great.  I just finished my 2.5-week portion of the class, and a colleague of mine will teach the next section.  I brought in some students from Seoul National to play instruments and different musical genres for the students, and I played a bit for the students as well.  On Wednesday night, we went to a concert at the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts.  It was a special performance of a Korean traditional wedding, with musical accompaniment.  The music included arrangements of traditional pieces as well as new compositions.  It was very well done, and the students really seemed to enjoy it.  Add to that, the weather was so nice.  When we exited the concert, the concert organizers gave us all rice cakes (traditionally given at weddings and birthdays, among other special occasions), and we walked under a clear moonlit sky to a great galguksu place where I treated them to a late dinner (none of the students had time to grab a bite before the concert).  Galguksu is noodle soup, make with hand-made wheat flour noodles and a clear broth.  We also ordered some mandu (dumplings), but the Muslim students from Kazakhstan could not partake because they don't eat pork.  We had a great conversation about the concert and Korean food, and I think it was a good bonding experience for the students. The students come from many different places, and my students came from (top photo, standing left to right)  Kazakhstan, Netherlands (of Vietnamese heritage), Sweden, and two Korean students; (seated, from left to right) Kazakhstan, Russia, (me), and Kazakhstan. We were a bit sad to part last night, but I'll see them in a couple of weeks for the program's closing ceremony at the University.  A student texted me last night thanking me for the great evening and for the great class.  Love it when students feel like going to class is worth their while and (gasp!) fun.   I had fun, too.